The Fog Horn

The Fog Horn is a short story by Ray Bradbury and the first in his collection "The Golden Apples of the Sun."

Related Topics:
Short story - Ray Bradbury - The Golden Apples of the Sun

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The plot follows the nameless protagonist and his boss, McDunn, who are putting in a night's work at a remote lighthouse. The lighthouse's resonating fog horn attracts a sea monster who destroys the place. This was actually the second time the monster had visited the lighthouse. He had been attracted by the same fog horn one year earlier. McDunn attributes the monster's actions to feelings of unrequited love for the lighthouse, whose fog horn sounds exactly like the wailings of the sea monster himself. The fog horn tricks the monster into thinking he has found another of his kind, one who acts as though the monster did not even exist. Both workers survive the incident, and within a year the lighthouse is rebuilt, this time with concrete reinforcements and a horn of a different tone. The protagonist mentions that he has since been married with a home and a new job, while McDunn is now the building's new master.

Related Topics:
Lighthouse - Fog horn

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The film The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms was based on this story, taking from Bradbury only the notion of a sea monster coming ashore.

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A more faithful adaptation was seen in an episode of Pokémon, titled Mystery at the Lighthouse.

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